


Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

by shiptoomuch



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Disney, Disney World & Disneyland, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Rating May Change, alternate universe: wishes never went away, disney college program
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 21:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9845687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiptoomuch/pseuds/shiptoomuch
Summary: Eric Bittle is thrilled to be starting the Disney College Program after he graduates and his life falls apart. He's got great roommates, a fun (if stressful) job, and a pass to go to the parks whenever he wants to.If only his coordinator wasn't determined to make it all as hard as possible.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Noorah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noorah/gifts).



> Any inaccuracies about working for disney/the college program are intentional for the purposes of the plot.

“Please pull on the yellow strap. The yellow strap. On your right. Please pull it so I can make sure you’re buckled.” Bitty points at the yellow strap in question with increasing desperation and makes eye contact with the man sitting in the seat. “Please, just pull it.”

“What?” The man replies dumbly.

“Pull the yellow strap! Ziehen Sie den gelben Gurt!” Bitty just wants to be done with this seatbelt check and get moving. They don’t have a grouper right now and he has a job to do. Jobs that don’t involve the most potato brained of the Grand Floridian.

“How’s your first day without a trainer going, Bittle?” And _of course_ the one coordinator who hates Bitty the most has to show up right at this moment. Jack claps a hand on Bitty’s shoulder as he walks by. “Did you forget to close A door?”

 _Shit._ “I was just about to after I finished checking this row! Don’t worry!” Bitty flashes his biggest Disney Grin and gives Jack a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this handled!”

“You’re dragging a little bit, make sure you pick up the pace a little bit.”

With that, Jack disappears out of A door, closing it behind him. Bitty’s shoulders slump slightly and he turns desperately back to the man. “Sir, can you please tug on that yellow strap so that we can get this show on the road?”

When Bitty walks into the shared Canada-Soarin’ break trailer, he rips his jacket off and throws himself into one of the chairs at the round table. Nobody even bothers to look up from their phones. Speaking of which, Bitty fishes his own out of his pocket to find that there are no fewer than seventy texts from the group chat. Apparently Ransom and Holster are having a great day in Hollywood Studios while Bitty is killing himself on a twelve hour shift the day after his training assessment. 

“Welcome to Soarin’,” he mutters bitterly to himself while he flips through pictures that Rans and Holtzy sent. 

“You’ll be okay, Baby Soarin,” one of the full timers, Kurt, says without looking up from his own phone.

“Please don’t call me baby Soarin’.”

Before Kurt can respond, Jack walks into the break trailer and sits next to Bitty. “Eric, just the guy I was looking for.”

Bitty groans and closes his eyes. Of course Jack was looking for him, because Jack hasn’t gone a single moment since Bitty started without criticizing him or making Bitty feel like he’s too stupid to check seatbelts. Still he smiles at Jack and hopes it doesn’t look like a grimace. “What can I help you with, Jack?”

“So I noticed that you’re great in the gates when it comes to talking to guests, but when you’re at merge or at the front, you clam up.”

Bitty frowns and stands up to go get a candy bar from the vending machine. Jack follows him, of course. “I don’t clam up.”

“You barely said two words to the leader of that tour group earlier. She’s nice. You’re nice. Why wouldn’t you talk to her?”

“I talked to her.”

“’They need to touch their magic bands’ doesn’t count as good guest interaction, Eric. You’re failing your courtesy checks up at the front.”

Bitty folds his arms and does not look away from the vending machine. “Okay. Maybe…just maybe, I have a little bit of a problem with being crowded.”

“Hm,” Jack frowns and rocks back on his heels. He watches too intently as Bitty buys his salt and vinegar chips, “you know this is Disney World. Crowds come with the deal.”

“I know that, Jack.”

“You know, if you feel like you can’t do this job, we can transfer you. The college program is pretty good about that,” Jack says with a frown. He’s still staring at the pretzels. “Let me know, eh?”

With that, Jack turns on his heel and walks out of the break trailer, leaving Bitty standing there with his chips and little to no dignity. Everyone at both the Canada pavilion tables and Soarin’ tables is staring at him and Bitty has never hated his life more than he does in this moment.

Finally, thankfully, Pat breaks the silence. “God, it’s like they gave that guy a purple collar and he suddenly thinks he can pick on the babies.”

“No, Pat, don’t call him a baby,” Melissa pipes up, “and Jack’s always been like that.”

“Fair. But he’s less than a week old, so he’s a baby.”

“I’m 22,” Bitty adds helpfully.

“And I’m 47, so you’re a baby.”

-  
It takes about five incidents for Bitty to be certain that Jack Zimmermann hates him. Bitty suspects that the feeling is becoming mutual.

1.  
“Eric, make sure you pick up the pace.”

“I’m going as fast as I can, Jack.”

“You need to pick it up.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

2.  
“Eric, you overloaded.”

“That would have been real nice to know before I took them into the theater, Jack.”

“I can’t do your job for you.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

3.  
“Eric, you should have given them re-adds.”

“Isn’t that your job?”

“You should always feel confident enough to help our guests.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

4.  
“Eric, you forgot to call Maintenance to tell them we’re 102.”

“I thought I would wait until the test flight finished.”

“Well you thought wrong.”

“Thank you, Jack.”

5.  
“Bittle, you’re late. That means you lose one of your breaks.”

“I was fifteen minutes late!”

“And that takes you below six hours, so you don’t get two breaks. It wasn’t me that did it, anyways, it was Gloely. I’m just the messenger.”

“Thank you, Jack.”  
-

Bitty comes home from his shift and immediately lays down on the living room floor. He is granted a total of fifteen seconds of silence before Holster comes tumbling in the door and nearly trips over Bitty in his rush. “Yo! Bits! We’re totes having a little get together tonight. You in?”

Bitty rolls over onto his back and frowns up at the ceiling. “Yeah, obviously. But I can’t get smashed like last time. I’m in at seven tomorrow.”

“Coolio! You know that means you’re on choking duty, tho, right?”

“Choking duty?”

Holster nods enthusiastically as he unpacks the beer from the grocery bags. “Yeah, brah, you’ve gotta make sure nobody chokes on their vomit. Usually Lilly from upstairs would do it but she’s got an essay to turn in tonight so this works perfectly!”

“Awesome. I hate my job,” Bitty says and then pauses, “wait, no, I just hate my coordinator. Jack _from Quebec._ What an absolute fucking asshole who was created and put working in Soarin’ specifically to make my life and my college program harder!”

“Tell us how you really feel, Bits,” Holster remarks dryly. 

Bitty frowns and sits up and he knows that Holster is being sarcastic, but hell, he’s going to keep going. “He’s just so infuriating! He demands the world from me and literally does not pick on a single other person. He got on me about my nervousness around crowds today! Which is ridiculous because I can still do my job! I’m just not as cheerful when there’s a group of 87 Argentinians flooding fastpass and ignoring me!”

“Well, who is?”

“Exactly! This is a totally rational and normal fear.” Bitty crosses his arms and flops back down on his back. 

Holster sits down next to Bitty on the frankly hideous carpet and scoffs. “Well I didn’t say _that._ But you gotta live your truth, broski, and your truth is that you are a little guy in a big world.”

“I’m not that short.”

“You are, but it’s okay! It’s all part of your charm.”

Bitty groans and picks himself up off of the floor. It’s seven now, which means that people will start showing up in about an hour and a half, which means he needs to shower now before Chowder and Nursey monopolize the bathroom getting ready.

He looks at the seemingly-crumbling-to-bits apartment and wonders how on earth he got here. A year ago he was on route to graduate and go to Paris for an internship with a pastry chef. And now here he is, living in the apartment complex that Playboy ranked as the “Second Easiest Place to Get Laid in the US”, and working in Disney World as a college program intern.

He lives with five other guys, only one of whom he has known for longer than three weeks, and he’s regularly scheduled for twelve hour shifts checking seatbelts and getting yelled at by a Canadian with no social skills and perfect cheekbones. 

Courtesy checks, his ass. Jack was way worse than Bitty at courtesy. 

Bitty showers, pointedly ignores the mold in the corner, and towels off as quickly as he can, shoving himself into some skinny jeans before deciding that Florida in June is far too hot for that, and changing into his blue running shorts. He puts on a Donald duck tank top to match them and looks at himself in the mirror. It really is a shame that he has work so early tomorrow, because Bitty would totally get laid tonight otherwise. 

Damn Jack Zimmermann and Soarin’ and being scheduled to open and everything in Bitty’s life that has led to him not having sex.

He’s putting on his eyeliner when Chowder and Nursey come into the room, practically falling over each other. Chowder is still in his lifeguarding uniform and looks to be turning just about as red as his shorts. 

“Bits, you will not _believe_ what Chowder did last night.” Nursey exclaims while he strips himself out of the maroon bellhop uniform that is the Tower of Terror costume. “You know that girl across the hall? Safari Caitlin? She and Chowder drove out to the parking lot of the outlets last night and totally fucked in the back of her car!”

Bitty gasps and throws a tube of lipstick at Nursey. It’s the orange that Bitty never wears because it looks horrible on him. “Derek Nurse, have some decorum!”

“Hey, don’t tell me to have decorum, I’m not the one who fucked in public.”

Chowder turns ever more red and groans. “Please stop.”

Bitty turns on him with his hands on his hips. “What is it, dear? Did you forget that this is not the first time you’ve done something like this? I’ve known you for three years, Christopher Chow, and I will not have you pretending to be some blushing virgin, even if you are my son.”

Chowder is Bitty’s college roommate, has been since Bitty was a sophomore and Chowder was a freshman. They even played on the hockey team together, and clicked in a way that the rest of the Samwell team never really did. They were good enough, but there were elements missing that kept them from coming together and pulling them to the Frozen Four. Still, the captain had been nice and Bitty had fun, even if he was still afraid of checking by the time he graduated. 

And now he has Chowder with him in Disney. It’s not bad. 

“Bits can I borrow your gold eyeliner?” Chowder asks while he changes into his usual v-neck for a party. Nursey, meanwhile, has managed to get his head stuck in the sleeve of his sweater. Of course it’s at that exact moment that Dex, who shares the room with Ransom and Holster, walks in.

“Have you seen my other black converse? I can’t find it anywhere. Oh my god, Nurse, what did you do to yourself?”

Nursey manages to pull his sweater off and glares at Dex. “Fuck off, Poindexter. I’m not the one who hasn’t realized his left shoe is under the dining room table.”

“Shit,” Dex says before wandering out of the room again. 

The party starts up at 8:30 just like Bitty predicted, people pouring in after a facebook post gone viral. It’s a whole lot of Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom CPs at first, but Epcot starts showing up at around 9:45 and a few lucky Magic Kingdom people who didn’t have to close drift in and out. Everyone looks totally harried and happy to not be yelled at. Ransom is at the door checking housing IDs to make sure nobody is under 21. 

It’s all going well and Bitty’s sipping on his one and only beer for the night, feeling looser from the day already.

And then his shitty day walks right through the door. Holster is walking by right at that moment and Bitty grabs his sleeve, yanking him back with all the strength he has.

“What on earth is Jack doing here? Why would you do this to me?”

“Jack? Where?” Holster looks where Bitty is pointing. “Oh you mean the Adonis with Shits? That’s your coordinator?”

“Yes! And now he’s in my apartment and probably going to ruin my life.”

“How would he ruin your life?”

“Well I’m not sure but he’ll find a way.”

Choking duty ends up being a harder task than he initially thought, and Bitty ends up holding the hair of two different girls while they vomit into the bathtub in Ransom, Holster, and Nursey’s bathroom. His room is specifically off limits, since he’s not the one throwing the parties, he figures his room shouldn’t be touched. It’s an agreement they’ve reached. Bitty’s door stays firmly locked and no party goers are allowed inside under any circumstances.

So imagine his surprise, when Bitty unlocks his door to turn in for the night and finds Jack from Quebec sitting on his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

“Eric? What are you doing here?”

Of course it inconveniences Jack that Bitty is in his own room. “I live here, Jack. That’s my bed.”

Jack picks up Señor Bun. “This is your rabbit?”

“Yes and could you please put him down?” Bitty doesn’t try to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he stares down Jack. They aren’t at work, Jack is sitting on Bitty’s bed without permission, and Bitty hates him. “What are you doing here, Jack Smith?”

“Smith?” Jack raises an eyebrow. Bitty knows he’s wrong.

“Yeah, well, I don’t know your last name and _Jack from Quebec_ doesn’t have the right amount of gravitas.” Bitty crosses his arms across his chest and raises an eyebrow at Jack.

“Zimmermann.” 

“What?”

“My last name. It’s Zimmermann.” Jack offers what looks like is supposed to be a smile. 

“Well that’s just great, Mr. Zimmermann. Why are you on my bed?”

Jack stares at him like he’d forgotten about that. “When I did my program, they would only do two to a room.”

“That’s great. What was that, three years ago?”

“Just about.” Jack looks around the room with a small smile on his face. “I used to sleep in this bed. From the feel of the mattress, it’s the exact same one.”

Bitty is dumbfounded. Jack used to sleep in his bed? “Wait, did you live here?”

Jack nods and lets out a little grin that Bitty isn’t sure really reconciles with the person that Jack is at work. “Yeah, when I did my program at the Canada pav, I lived here with Shitty. That’s kinda the only reason he convinced me to come.”

“Shitty?”

Jack nods. “My friend with the mustache. He works at Jungle Cruise and Aladdins Magic Carpets. Does his Mansion training in a week.”

“Oh, so he knows Holster.” Holster is a custodian in the Adventureland/Liberty Square area, and surely is just as social there as he is at home. 

“He knows Adam,” Jack confirms with a nod. He claps his hands together and rubs them like he’s completely uncomfortable with everything that’s happening, a feeling that Bitty can relate to. He’s still sitting on Bitty’s bed. 

“How did you get in here?” Bitty blurts out. “It was locked.” 

Jack looks around like he’s surprised that Bitty is asking. “Your roommate Chowder let me sit in here. Parties can be a bit much for me. Crowds and socializing really isn’t my thing.”

Bitty smiles slightly and then realizes exactly what it is that Jack just said. Crowds aren’t his thing? _Crowds?_ and he has the gall to call Bitty out at every given chance? No, that’s not cool. Bitty absolutely will not stand for that. “I’m sorry, but are you absolutely fucking kidding me?”

“Euh…no?” Jack looks genuinely confused, which only serves to further fuel Bitty’s anger. 

He stalks over to the bed and stands mere inches away from Jack. He has half a mind to tell Jack to stand up, but this position gives Bitty the advantage of height. “You give me endless shit at work about my claustrophobia and then you tell me that you get nervous around crowds too? Jack, that’s absolute fucking bullshit!”

“Eric, it’s affecting your job performance. It’s not affecting mine.” Jack slaps his thighs and shrugs. “I’m giving you a hard time because if I don’t, and you don’t fix it, the managers will notice. And they won’t take the time to help.”

It almost makes some sort of sense, and it only serves to make Bitty angrier. He can’t be in this room anymore, even if it is _his_ room. But it was Jack’s room and it feels like it still is and Bitty cannot be in here. “Don’t be in here in half an hour,” he says sharply before turning to leave the room.

Who cares if he’ll be exhausted at work tomorrow? (The answer to that is, of course, Jack.) Bitty needs to forget that his current least favorite person in Orlando is sitting on his bed being an asshole.

Not that Jack knows how to be anything else.

Back in the living room, There are college students in various levels of drunkenness laying around on the furniture and floor. Ransom takes a look at his face and immediately holds out a beer to him. Bitty wants to say no, should say no, but doesn’t. 

Jack Zimmermann is in his bedroom.

That _asshole_ has the gall to feel uncomfortable in crowds.

Bitty is going to get drunk enough to still be on time for work tomorrow. He takes the beer and sits on the ground between Nursey and a boy with messy brown hair that looks like he jumped straight out of a boyband. “Hi,” he says with a small grin while his eyes flick over Bitty’s body, “I’m Brendan.”

“Oh, hello, Brendan.” Bitty smiles into his beer and takes a swig. “I’m Eric. But my friends call me Bitty.”

“Okay, Bitty, what do you do?” Brendan smiles and leans in and _oh._ So that’s what they’re doing. 

“Soarin’. And you?”

“I’m Prince Eric and Flynn Rider,” Brendan answers with a cocky smile. 

Bitty can’t help but laugh. “Of course you are.”

The conversation around them is slow but comfortable and seems to get even slower as Bitty is halfway into his third beer. Dex is leaning on Nursey’s shoulder and mumbling something that sounds like he’s complaining about socks left on the floor. Nursey is laughing. Ransom and Holster have both disappeared which Bitty thinks should be more alarming than it is. He turns to Brendan, whose shoulder he’s started leaning on slightly at some point.

“Wanna go out on the patio?”

“Yeah.” Brendan follows him out and leans against the railing of the porch. He frowns down at the bushes and bites back a laugh. “Is that someone’s bikini top?”

Bitty nods and stares at the light blue piece of fabric tangled up in the leaves and branches. “Yeah. We think it belongs to the girls above us.” He leans forward on his elbows next to Brendan. “Where do you live?”

“Patterson.”

“Nice.”

“You’re cute,” Brendan says plainly. “Do you want to make out?”

“Yeah, okay.” Bitty leans in and captures Brendan’s lips with his own. It’s messy and tastes like the shitty beer that Holster always buys and it’s the best damn kiss Bitty has had in months. 

It’s the first damn kiss he’s had in months. He grabs at Brendan’s shoulders and lets himself melt into it. Bitty is molded against Brendan’s body and it feels so good and so hot and he’s absolutely going to get laid tonight, seven am shift be damned. 

Brendan is hard against his hip and Bitty grinds into it, loves the feeling of how much the other man wants him. It has been too damn long since-

“Eric? Justin said you were out here and-oh. I’m sorry.”

Apparently, it’s been too long since Jack Zimmermann ruined everything. “Jack, go home.”

“Is this your boyfriend?”

Brendan’s eyes go wide. Bitty groans and shakes his head. “No, he’s not my boyfriend. I don’t know his last name.”

“Oh, that’s…interesting.” Jack frowns and furrows his brow. “So you two were out here because…”

“Because I want to have sex with him! And if you could just _go home_ I would be able to do that.”

Brendan nods enthusiastically and makes shooing motions at Jack. He looks genuinely desperate to get him out of here. “Yeah dude, get out of here.”

Jack frowns impossibly deeper and does not move, because of course he doesn’t. “Euh, okay. See you at work tomorrow, Eric.”

Later, when Bitty’s on his knees in the bathroom, marveling at how _loud Brendan_ is, and wondering if someone is gunna call the cops, he absolutely does not think about Jack Zimmermann and how he looked like he might actually be upset by the sight of them.

-

“You hooked up with a Flynn? That’s the dream!” Jenn exclaims loudly and Bitty blushes.

“Can you keep your voice down? We are at work!” Bitty looks around them, not really expecting to see anyone at Soarin’ at 7:45 in the morning, and barely stifling his own laugh. 

Of course, when he turns, he sees Jack standing there in a Soarin’ costume, rather than the coordinator blue with a purple collar that Bitty has come to know. “Eric, Jenn.”

“Aw Jackie-wackie is back in the gates! But he’s C gate so he gets to go to tower, the lucky bitch,” Jenn says with a grin and actually _hugs_ Jack. 

Jack Zimmermann.

Jack motherfucking worst relief coordinator in the world Zimmermann.

Bitty feels betrayed and confused and he wonders if maybe it’s really just him that Jack hates. “Jack, it’s nice to see you wearing a polyester suit like the rest of us.”

“Yeah, the best part of relief coordinating is getting to wear cotton,” Jack says with what almost looks like a smile. 

Jenn cracks up at the “joke” and slaps him on the back. “It’s nice to have you back, Jackie attack.”

 _Jackie Wackie? Jack Attack?_ This has to be some weird alternate universe that he’s slipped into where Jack isn’t the _worst._ One where Jenn, who previously seemed really cool, is gossiping to Jack and talking to him like he hasn’t been treating Bitty like shit. 

Jack, though, seems to notice that Bitty has pulled back from the conversation, because he steps over and the smile slips off his face. “Hey, Eric, I was wondering if I could help you out with your crowd thing?”

“What?”

“You know, if you learn to just be in control of the situation, if could help you.” Jack lights up slightly as he explains it, “You play hockey, right? It’s like stickhandling, you have to be careful, delicate, but fierce about it. You can’t let them take control.”

“Them?” Bitty asks with a raised eyebrow. He keeps his arms firmly crossed in front of him. 

Jack doesn’t seem to notice, though, and presses on, “Yeah, them. The guests. They’re like…the opposing team. In order to…win…or keep everything running, you have to keep control of the puck.”

“So I should view them like enemies?”

“Yeah, or children.”

“Thanks, Jack.” Bitty grants him a small smile and nods definitively, rolling his shoulders as he does so. “That helps. How did you know I played hockey?”

Jack shrugs. “I asked Adam about you.” He the proceeds to frown at a point just above Bitty’s collar and turn around to go back and talk to Jenn. 

Bitty can’t help but stare after him and wonder what on Earth Jack Zimmermann could be getting at by _asking his roommates about him._

Bitty isn’t left to stand there dumbstruck for very long before Jenn is coming up to him looking apologetic. “Jack wanted me to help you cover up that little hickey on your neck.” She holds up a tube of concealer and grimaces. 

Well, that moment didn’t last long.


	3. Chapter 3

“Bro, can you stop talking about the kid for a moment? It’s getting ridiculous,” Shitty says as he blows out a stream of smoke into the air. It’s a relatively cool evening, so the two of them are sitting out on their porch, ‘bromantically connecting’ as Shitty so beautifully puts it. 

And Jack has spent the last half hour bitching about Eric without realizing it. “Oh shit, I’m sorry Shits.”

Shitty shrugs and snorts at the use of his name. He holds out the blunt to Jack. “Here, bro, you need this.”

Jack doesn’t make a habit of smoking with Shitty. It really only happens about once a year, and Shitty is always exceptionally excited about it. As much as it relaxes him, it’s not something he enjoys experiencing regularly. 

But _crisse,_ Eric has gotten under his skin.

“He’s so afraid to do his actual job and it’s really getting in the way of our efficiency. And then the way he can never seem to stop chattering with the guests does the same thing!” Jack huffs and takes another drag. “He’s so nice that it’s like nobody else notices!”

“Did he make that pie at the party the other night?”

“Probably. He bakes all the time and brings it in to work.”

“Wow, what a nightmare,” Shitty deadpans before swiping back his blunt. “You don’t deserve this if you’re going to continue to be an asshole.”

Jack grunts and settles further into his seat, takes a pull from his beer and runs a hand through his hair. He hates that he can’t stop griping about Bittle, but the kid is fucking up his perfectly balanced work life. 

He _wants_ to like Bittle. The guy has nice hair and when he laughs the corners of his eyes crinkle up and he makes the best apple pie Jack has ever had and once he wore these shorts in before changing and it was….

But no, Bittle just rubs him the wrong way.

-

Eric Bittle loves his job. He loves his job and he will never complain again if there are more days like today. 

More days where Chris Evans shows up and talks to him and Bitty gets to act like this is totally fine and cool and not one of the men who helped him along his sexual awakening. Honestly, thinking about it, none of it feels particularly real. He sits on the bus and ruminates the events, still not entirely sure that it happened. 

There is absolutely no way that Chris Evans said hello to him. There is no way Eric Richard Bittle checked Captain America’s seatbelt. There’s just no way. 

The oddest thing about the whole event, though, was the cast members’ reactions not to Mr. Evans himself, but to the Guest Relations cast member with him, _Kent from Rochester, NY._

Everyone, upon seeing him, greeted him with a large amount of enthusiasm and spent more time talking to him than doing their actual jobs. It was almost like Kent was a minor celebrity to them. 

Which is weird, because in Bitty’s experience, Guest Relations cast members tend to be absolute assholes, and the intensely handsome man didn’t seem to be much different. But he smiled easily and laughed with his coworkers and had even talked to Bitty like he knew him and made him feel comfortable.

He’d asked Jenn afterwards, and had been absolutely astounded by the answer. 

“Oh, he’s Jack’s roommate. They’re not close, though, I don’t think. They used to be, though. I know they used to fuck when Kent was working here.”

Bitty had to take a step back. “No, that can’t be right. Kent is so _nice._ ”

“So is Jack. You just have to give the guy a chance, honest.”

So now here Bitty is, sitting on a bus and thinking about the fact that apparently Jack has the most charming roommate on the planet, despite being an asshole himself, and used to sleep with that roommate, who used to be a coordinator at Soarin’.

Jack had apparently even been sleeping with Kent while they were CPs, before Jack ever worked at Soarin’. In the bed where Bitty now sleeps.

Bitty shakes himself. He does not need to think about Jack Zimmermann having sex in his bed. He really doesn’t. 

Bitty is thankfully distracted when he gets home by Nursey and Dex standing in the living room with a package of oreos between them on the ground, overturned. Bitty can’t tell if Nursey is about to laugh or punch someone. Dex is bright red.

“Bits! You’re back! Tell Dex that Oreos are vegan!” 

“Well right now, all those oreos are, is on the floor,” Bitty remarks, “and you need to clean them up before the roaches get them.”

“Roaches?” Dex asks, looking suddenly very nervous. “We have roaches?”

Bitty frowns at Dex and nods slowly. “This is Florida, sweetheart. Everyone has roaches.”

“I saw one on the ceiling last night,” Nursey supplies with a shit eating grin. 

Dex, meanwhile, is scooping oreos up off the floor with a frantic energy. Nursey looks like this is the best thing that’s ever happened to him. If Bitty catches his eyes lingering on a certain ginger’s ass, well, that’s not something that Bitty’s going to mention today. Besides, he’s got far more important questions on his mind. “Are you vegan, Nursey? Because the main ingredient in all of my pies is Butter.

“Oh no, but Dex my sister is, and Dex doesn’t believe that oreos are vegan.”

“There’s no way! I’m sure they use lard in them!” Dex exclaims as he attempts to sweep the carpet of oreo crumbs. “Can roaches smell chocolate?”

At that moment, Ransom and Holster come barreling out of their room. “Yo, we talkin’ roaches?” Ransom says with an honestly terrifying glint in his eyes. “Because we need to discuss this.”

“Discuss what?” Dex looks absolutely terrified at the prospect of more roaches. “Please don’t tell me we have a roach problem.”

“This is Florida, honey,” Bitty supplies again.

Holster waves them both off. “No, this is more important. Where’s Chowder? We need Chowder.”

“Chowder’s at work,” Dex says. He looks about two seconds away from going to the clubhouse and renting a vacuum. “Seriously, do we have a roach problem?”

“Dex! Enough about the roaches! What do you need to discuss?” Nursey turns to Ransom and Holster with wild eyes. “Seriously, young William will have a breakdown if you don’t get to the point.”

“Okay,” Ransom starts, “so Holster’s coworker asked him the weirdest fucking would you rather, and it’s been a hot topic of conversation.”

The other three stare in expectation and Holster claps his hands together and grins. “So, would you rather find one thousand roaches in your attic, or a strange man?”

-

“Bittle, idle chit chat?” Jack’s voice cuts through Bitty’s telling his coworkers about the attic-roach debate, and he groans. 

“Sorry, Jack!” The rest of the cast members scurry off into their gates, but Bitty stays in place. There’s something about the way Jack is looking at him that makes him want to pick a fight. “You know, I wasn’t the only one chatting. Yet, you singled me out. That’s not fair, Jack. You’re not even coordinating today.”

He tries to set his jaw in a way that won’t deny the fact that his heart is racing. He’s never been one to pick fights before, but Jack just makes him want to call out any bullshit. 

Jack, for one, looks shocked. “I-uh. I saw you first and it just came out, I guess? But you’re right. I shouldn’t have singled you out like that.”

Bitty wasn’t expecting him to give in so easily. “It’s fine, I guess. Just as long as you stop doing it.”

“Yeah,” Jack says with a tight smile. “I’ve-uh-noticed that you’re getting better up front. Good job.”

“Thanks. Your hockey metaphors have been helping,” Bitty says with a slight smile, just to cut the guy a break. Jack really has been helping him out when they work together. 

He’s not _all bad._

“Glad I could help.” Jack offers his fist up and Bitty laughs, surprised.

“A fist bump? I didn’t think you did these!” 

“Yeah, well, you have to earn them.”

-

There’s something incomparably joyful about being trashed and riding _Gran Fiesta Tour_ five times in a row because there’s nobody in line and the cast members don’t care if they just keep riding. Nursey’s friend Tango (Bitty is 90% sure his real name is Tony) keeps making cracks in spanish to a guy named William who works in the Mexican Pavilion. Everyone keeps calling him Whiskey, which only makes Bitty want to get even more schwasted and see how many spins on Mission Space it’ll take before he throws up in front of someone he works with. 

They leave The Three Caballeros (“Whiskey we need another friend so we can be them! I’m Brazilian and you’re Mexican, it’s perfect.” “Sounds great, Tony. Find an angry American and we’re set.”) and Bitty is shepherded from more tequila. He’s drunk, but not completely gone, and if he wants to keep his job, he really needs to not blackout at his workplace. 

Still, being drunk and in Disney? It’s _fun._ It’s more fun than he’s had in ages. Since he last talked to his parents, certainly, and more fun than he thought he’d get to have this summer. 

It’s hot, over 90 degrees and the sun is sinking slowly toward the horizon. Bitty’s shirt feels like it’s becoming part of his body and he knows his thighs are going to be chafed to hell and back once this night is over, but he can’t find it in himself to care. 

His feet hurt, but when do his feet not hurt nowadays? 

“Eric, nice to see you,” a voice cuts into Bitty’s joy and immediately ruins his day.

“Who the fuck is Eric?” Holster says and frowns, looking around himself. Bitty laughs but then realizes that holster is being completely serious, and seems to have forgotten Bitty’s actual first name. 

He raises his hand. “That would be me. Jack Zimmermann, what are you doing here? Did the universe send you to ruin my night?”

Jack frowns, his forehead wrinkling in a way that is _not at all adorable_ and looks genuinely upset by Bitty’s question. “No, I just…well I got off a bit ago and I was thinking I’d go say hi to some of the Canada Pavilion people.”

“Ah yes, the people you always opt to sit with, rather than your own coworkers,” Bitty remarks with a frown. Jack always acts like he’s just…too good for everyone else at Soarin’. 

Holster holds up his hands and steps between the two of them. “Wait, did you say _Jack Zimmermann?”_

Jack’s face flashes with something that looks like illness and gives a sharp nod. “Yeah, that’s my name.”

“Holy shit-“ Holster starts to talk but is grabbed by Ransom, who gives him a look. Ransom is the sober friend here, and apparently is catching onto something that nobody else is. 

“I feel like I know that name,” Dex says slowly. 

“Maybe Bittle just talks about me that much, eh?” Jack says with a grin that looks more than practiced. “Did you guys want to come to the Pav with me? It looks like you could use some help keeping Bittle upright, at the very least.”

Holster crows and pumps a fist. “Hell yeah! Hanging out with Jack Zimmermann!”

Everyone is far too excited to hang out with Jack. Bitty is not excited to hang out with Jack. Not even when Jack crosses his arms and smirks at Bitty, raising an eyebrow. Not even though this is the first time Bitty has seen him out of his work pants and that ass should be illegal. 

Like, _damn._

Bitty hangs back from the group, sure that Jack will be happy talking to the other guys, but Jack doesn’t walk by any of the others. Instead, he matches Bitty’s pace the whole way over and talks to him in a voice that’s almost hushed. It’s…nice. It’s not what Bitty was expecting.

Jack outside of work is calmer, happier, laughs when Bitty makes a crack at his expense. It’s hard to comprehend. 

The Canada pavilion is uneventful, mostly, except there are a few people who keep calling Jack “Captain Canada” and Bitty thinks it might be the funniest thing he’s ever heard. They’re waiting to go into the circlevision movie when he finally has to ask.

“Well, when people’s programs are starting or ending, we have throw-ins and throw-outs. We also have puzzle club and carousel club and other events. Captain Canada is in charge of all that. I was Captain for eight months of my program when I first started with the company and I was working here.”

Bitty is shocked. “You were the social director of the Canada Pavilion? Also, why does it sound weirdly like a frat?”

Jack laughs, soft but still full body, and runs a hand through his hair. “Honestly? It kind of is like a frat. I loved working here.”

“So why are you at Soarin’ now?” 

“The people who work World Showcase are on year long programs. I decided I wanted to stay with the company, and with my dual citizenship, I can legally work in the US, but I couldn’t stay here. So I got bumped over to future world.” Jack shrugs and quirks up a corner of his mouth. “But hey, there are a lot of people I’m glad I met at Soarin’.”

The other boys are over in the corner playing some game that involves slapping each other’s hands, and Bitty has no way to escape this moment. His mouth feels dry and the way that Jack’s blue eyes are boring into his is sending a chill down his spine. He and Jack aren’t even _friends,_ he doesn’t think, but this moment feels all too intimate and Bitty wants to escape it. 

He’s too drunk to handle this. 

So he says the first thing that pops into his mind. “Like Kent? Jenn said the two of you met at Soarin’ and you’re roommates now.” She’d also said they weren’t exactly friends, but Bitty doesn’t mention that. 

Jack tenses back up, and this, this is the Jack that Bitty is more comfortable with. It’s not the Jack he particularly likes, but it’s the one he knows. “Kent and I met when I was on my program in Canada and he was a CP working at Soarin’. He stayed after his CP ended and I went back to Montreal for a while. But yeah, we met at Soarin’, I guess.”

“And you live together now.”

“It was convenient,” Jack replies gruffly. 

Bitty pushes, even though he knows Jack doesn’t want him to, but hell, he’s drunk and he can’t figure Jack out. “And now?”

“It’s comfortable. And we really don’t see much of each other.”

Bitty hums and bites at his thumbnail. “I can’t imagine living with my ex. Joshua…he fucked me over about five ways from Sunday.”

“Oh?” Jack is clearly grateful for the topic change, and runs with it. 

Bitty nods and glowers at the carpet. “Asshole cheated on me and then had the gall to ask for his ring back. I threw it in the pond.”

“Ring?”

Bitty nods and frowns. “I thought about pawning it off, moving to France, but it felt better to just get rid of it, you know?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

Bitty shrugs. He feels sick. Talking about Joshua always makes him feel bad, and he’s not sure why he even brought it up. To comfort Jack? To get closer to this guy he hates?

Fucking tequila. “I need some air.” He stands up suddenly, and the room starts spinning. 

“Eric, you should sit down. You look a little green.” Jack says slowly, rising to put a hand at the small of his back. Bitty jumps away from the warmth of his hand.

The jump unsettles his stomach even more, though, and before Bitty knows it, he’s puking on Jack’s shoes. He tries to make himself feel pleased about it, tell himself that he hates Jack enough that he deserves it, but Jack isn’t even mad. He’s just acting like he’s worried about Bitty: rubbing his back and speaking to him in a quiet voice while he walks them away from the puddle of vomit. 

He’s too goddamn nice. Why can’t he just be like this outside of work?


	4. Chapter 4

Eric Bittle vomited on his coordinator.

He _vomited_ on his boss. 

And now he’s late to work and is going to have to talk to said coordinator. Jack Zimmermann. Who he threw up on. 

“Eric, how are you?” Jack smiles and looks far too happy to be at work the day after he was puked on. He’s wearing new shoes. 

“I’m late. Sorry, I’ll be ready to work in just a moment,” Bitty scurries around Jack as quickly as possible. 

Jack frowns and holds out a hand. “You’re not too late, are you? Let me see what I can do about your start time while you change.”

When Bitty comes back into the break room, Jack is smiling, and leaning on the desk with the computer on it. “Hey, don’t worry about that half point.”

Bitty’s eyes go wide and his mouth falls open. “You did that? For me?”

Jack shrugs. “You’ve been having a tough time, I know. Least I can do is help.”

-

When Jack’s roommate shows up the next time, he’s accompanied by some nameless rich person with a small family. Jack is there this time, relief coordinating, but clearly not expecting Kent to be there. Bitty sees him freeze. “Kent. Nice to see you.”

If Bitty thought Jack was stiff during his first month and a half of his college program, he was downright charming compared to this interaction. Part of him wants to swoop in and help the guy out, but it feels too intimate. Jack and he have only just started getting along, he doesn’t want to overstep, and create more distance between them.

Jack is still awkward, at times harsh when he’s worried about loss of productivity at Soarin’, but he’s…nice. Fun, even. As Shitty has become friends with Ransom and Holster, it seems that Jack is part of a package deal with the mustachioed man, often coming over with him. He’s also been the supplier of pictures of Shitty before he worked for Disney, back when he was only at Universal and had longer hair, stopping just above his collar, and he would wear it half back.

Bitty is almost ready to consider Jack a friend. 

If he didn’t know better, he wouldn’t think Jack and Kent lived together, or that they even knew each other very well, much less liked each other. Kent gives Jack a practiced smile and holds out a hand for him to shake. “Jack! How are you? I used to work here, and now Jack and I live together,” he adds to the family he’s escorting. He’s charming as always. 

Bitty was charmed by him, last time. Now, seeing Jack so uncomfortable, he’s unsure about how he feels about Kent. 

“I thought you had today off. You said you were going to pick up your sister at the airport,” Jack says lightly, if only you don’t look at his eyes. 

Kent smiles again and nods. “I was going to take today off, but then my sister’s plans changed, and I decided to pick up. Lucky me, since I got to meet these lovely people!” His guests smile and clap him on the shoulder. Bitty can’t help but want to be one of the people Kent is talking about. 

Jack doesn’t seem fooled. He smiles and nods, says, “I’m sorry about your sister,” and walks away, exiting out through a door to backstage. 

Bitty looks to Kent after Jack is gone, and gets only a smirk from the other man. “You’re Eric? Nice to finally meet you.”

-

“Bits! Get put your dick away and get dressed, we’re going to Shitty’s for game night!”

“My dick isn’t out, and stop fucking yelling, Holster!”

“Fight me.”

“Oh my god guys, Bitty’s threatening me!” Holster shrieks in a girlish voice. “Seriously, man, get dressed.”

“Can I come?” Lardo shouts from where she’s laying on the bedroom floor, sketching in her notebook. 

Holster shrieks and throws open the door. “Why do you have a girl over here, last time I checked you were super fucking gay, Bittle.”

Lardo rolls her eyes and pushes into a sitting position. “Hi, I’m Larissa. Call me Lardo. I live with Chris’ girlfriend across the hall and I, too, am super fucking gay.”

“Bits, why does she look like she can break my fingers with a stare.”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“Why do you look like you can break my fingers with a stare?” 

Lardo grins wickedly and winks. “Because I probably could?”

Bitty snorts and kicks her in the ribs. “Come on, are you coming to game night or not?”

Lardo weighs her options with furrowed brows before shaking her head. “Nah, Camilla’s having a get together tonight and if I ever wanna get with her, I should go. But have fun with _Jack.”_

She saunters out and Bitty stares after her, looking to Holster for help. “What the fuck did she mean?”

-

Bitty wakes up on a couch that he knows isn’t his. For one, it’s not that horrible multicolored checkerboard pattern from CP housing. And it smells like it hasn’t gone twenty years without any amount of washing.

It takes him a moment or two to remember what it was that woke him up, and he turns toward the noise behind him. He sits up to find Jack at an unfamiliar kitchen counter (presumably belonging to the man in question, whisking a bowl of eggs. He quirks his lips up. “Hey, Bittle.”

“Why am I on your couch? Why do you have such a nice couch?”

“You and your roommates had a bit too much to drink last night during game night. I think Ransom and Holster are asleep on Shitty’s floor right now. You refused to leave the couch.” Jack snorts at the memory.

Bitty frowns, head pounding slightly. His mouth is tacky and dry, but he vaguely remembers a vicious game of Settlers of Catan. “Shitty had to take them out of the room to keep Holster from punching you over sheep.”

Jack laughs. Bitty hates the way his stomach is twisting. He thinks he might be a little bit drunk. “Yeah, then you declared my couch to be the most comfortable thing on the planet, told me you hated me, and fell asleep.”

“Oh God, I’m so so-“

“Don’t be,” Jack cuts him off quickly, looking down at his eggs, “you have every right to. I’ve been an asshole to you.”

His southern upbringing wants to fight it, but Bitty swallows the urge to be polite. “Yeah, you have been.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s not okay, but if you promise to stop, I’ll forgive you,” Bitty says firmly. He locks eyes with Jack and doesn’t let go until Jack says, 

“Deal.” He pauses and sets down his bowl. “Want some eggs?”

Bitty pushes himself up off the couch with a groan, taking a moment to let his head settle down. “Now, I’m coming in there to help you, because trust you, but there’s nobody that can beat me when it comes to these things.”

Half an hour later, Ransom and Holster come stumbling out of one of the bedrooms, Shitty in tow with a smirk and a bottle of water. “Aw, look at this adorable shit. Jackie dear, is that a fucking quiche?”

“Frittata,” Bitty corrects, holding a spatula up threateningly. “And if y’all want a quiche, then next time I come over, have a pie plate.”

“Next time?” Jack asks with raised eyebrows.

Bitty rolls his eyes and levels Jack with a look. “Just buy the pie plate, Mister Zimmermann.”

Ransom looks to holster with confusion. “When did Bitty stop hating Jack?”

“I think it was somewhere between throwing up on him and falling asleep on the couch. I think the vomit carried all of Bitty’s rage toward our dear Captain Canada.”

Shitty sniffles and wipes a tear. “This is so fucking beautiful.”

Bitty rolls his eyes and goes about serving up frittata, pan sausage, and fruit salad. “Y’all are ridiculous. Just because I’m not yelling at Jack doesn’t mean everything is sunshine and rainbows. He’s still kind of a dick.”

Everyone looks to Jack expectantly. The man in question simply takes a bite of his breakfast and shrugs. “It’s fair,” he says around a mouthful of frittata. 

Shitty coos again and drapes himself over Jack’s back. “This is so fucking beautiful. I could come in my pants right now at this forgiveness shit.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Shits?”

“I’m just so fucking happy for you, brah.” Shitty nuzzles Jack and hugs him so tightly it looks like it has to hurt. Bitty can’t help but laugh. “You’re making new fucking friends and growing as a person and you’re bringing pies into our home and I’m just so tickled that you don’t hate Bits anymore because-“

Bitty puts his hands on his hips. “Yes, we all don’t hate each other now.”

Jack blushes and bites his lips. “Well, I didn’t hate you as such, but you really rubbed me the wrong way and I…thought you were going to quit?”

“Yeah, I’m not quitting,” Bitty laughs and shakes his head. “I quit, and I’m homeless.”

“Yo, Bits,” Ransom says in _that voice._

Bitty holds up a hand to cut him off. “Look, I’m fine. The only one who really knows is Chowder, but my parents told me they didn’t want me to come home if I was going to marry a man when I got engaged to Joshua. So I rarely talk to them. And then Joshua dumped me, and I lost my scholarship for the internship in France, and so I’m here. And I need to be here.”

Jack frowns and reaches out a hand as if to hug Bitty, but then jerks his arm back and aborts the movement. “I had no idea.”

“Like I said, only Chowder knows. But now all of you do. I don’t really want to talk about it, though.”

“We’re here for you, Bits. Whenever you need us.” 

Shitty sniffles and kisses Jack on the cheek, then Bitty. “I’m so fucking moved right now. But mostly angry. Honestly, I want to fuck up every single person that wronged you in that story. You tiny fucker, I am here to avenge you.”

Bitty squawks and puts a hand on his chest. “I am a normal size! And you really don’t have to avenge anyone.”

“Bro, what the fuck else are friends for?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! So the former chapter five was horrible. Quite literally horrible. So here we are, with a new chapter five. Pretend the other one didn't happen.

One of the best parts of living in Disney World is that when he’s having a tough day, he can go to Magic Kingdom, get a raspberry smoothie, and sit by Dueling Dumbos until he stops crying. And it’s so crowded that nobody spares him a second glance or asks him why he’s crying.

He’s swirling the melted dregs of his smoothie around the bottom of his cup and laughing wetly at the little kid who just fell over trying to get out of his stroller when someone sits next to him on the bench. “You know, little dude, you could just come over and hang out with your friends.”

Bitty sighs, but can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips. “Shitty, how did you know I was here?” 

“Your boy saw your Instagram on his break. That picture of the castle with the caption ‘next stop: Auntie Gravity’s’? According to Jackie dearest, that’s classic sad Bittle.”

Bitty snorts and nods. He’d confided his secret little ritual to Jack about a week ago when they were hanging out in the park. Bitty’s glad that he has a friend that cares enough about him to remember things like that. 

Besides Chowder, he’s never really had a friend like that before. “Well, thanks for coming. I know you were probably busy.”

“Not too busy to come help out my favorite tiny bro,” Shitty says and knocks his shoulder into Bitty’s. “And Jack was worried about you, so I found room in my off-day schedule of napping and trashing Kerouac on the internet.”

Bitty laughs and knocks his shoulder back into Shitty’s. “You’re pretty fucking weird, you know that?”

“Bits! You wound me! I drive all the way from Windermere to come to your aid and you call me weird? I am offended, not only for my sake, but for the long line of WASPs from which I am descended. I demand apology!” Shitty stands up and clutches a hand over his chest, throws his other hand over his eyes. “My honor! My honor!”

“Shut up, weirdo,” Bitty kicks halfheartedly at Shitty’s shin and receives a grin in response. “I suppose you want to know why I’m sitting here and crying by myself, huh?”

Shitty sits down and shakes his head. “Nah. You don’t have to tell me unless you want to. Rule number one of being a good bro is not prying.”

“Really?”

“No, it’s more like rule number three. Rule number one is to never let a bro miss work because of a hangover.”

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that it’s probably Jack who has to do that for you most of the time.”

Shitty nods solemnly. “That he does, that he does. That Canadian American beaut of a motherfucker.” 

“Can one of the bro rules be don’t let a bro hang out with his mildly homophobic parents alone?” Bitty asks with a sudden burst of bravery. “Cuz I’m going to need that in about three weeks.”

“Of course,” Shitty says, “you think Jack leaves me alone when my father is in town? Not a fucking chance, little bro. Is that why you’ve escaped to Storybook Circus?”

Bitty nods and tries to swallow the lump that has reappeared in his throat. “Yeah. They called last night to tell me, and when I woke up this morning all I could feel was dread. I don’t even know why they want to come down. They barely even want to speak to me.”

“Probably for free tickets, brah. Sad but true.”

This time, when Bitty laughs, there’s hardly any mirth to it. He knows this. Both being teachers, they get a weeklong break in October. Madison isn’t too far from Orlando, they probably just want a cheap vacation. “Yeah. My mom loves Not So Scary. She’s already asked me to get some discounted tickets to that.”

“You know you don’t have to do anything for them if you don’t want to, right?”

He knows. He’s twenty-two years old and his parents really do not have any control over him anymore. It’s not like he’s ever going to live with them again. “I just don’t want them to hate me. I can handle them not liking me as long as they still love me.”

“That only kind of make sense, I hope you know, but I’m here for you whatever you need. Jack too, even if he has serious issues expressing his emotions.” Shitty stands up and holds out a hand to Bitty. “Now come on, we’re gunna go ride Little Mermaid no less than three times and then split a turkey leg like the romantic fuckers we are.”

-

“Thanks for sending Shits the other day,” Bitty says to Jack as their walking onstage. They cross the threshold onstage and Bitty looks up at Jack, who smirks when Bitty says, “Bernard was really helpful.”

Jack shrugs and holds the door to the utility closet open. “It was no big deal. I saw your post and thought I send him to check up on you. What was wrong after all?”

“My parents are coming into town in three weeks,” Bitty says on a sigh. “Can you call Tower?”

Jack nods and picks up the utility closet phone. “Yeah. I think I’m going to sit in there for a couple of flights.”

“Oh?”

Jack nods and rolls his eyes. “You know, routine safety checks. Figured I might as well do it while you’re in tower. It’ll be fun, eh?”

Normally when Bitty has a coordinator watching him at work, it makes him insanely nervous. Two weeks ago, Jack would have been no different but lately since they’ve started hanging out and now? 

The door to ride control unlocks and Jack once again opens the door for Bitty, gestures him in, and claps him on the shoulder. Bitty laughs and shakes his head. “Thanks, Jack. But I’ll have you know that I don’t need a gentleman to open doors for me.”

Jack snorts and shakes his head. “Just go in, man.”

Bitty takes the flashlight from Alice, does his safety checks, and then she’s on her way. She smiles at Jack sweetly (everyone knows about her crush on him.) Bitty rolls his eyes at her and waits for her to leave before slamming the gate shut behind her. She’s a perfectly nice girl, but something about her really rubs Bitty wrong. 

“So, what are you going to do while your parents are here?” Jack asks while they wait for seatbelt checks to finish and the flight to take off. They stand by the gate, close enough that their arms are nearly touching.

Bitty shrugs and waves at a child exiting the ride. “I don’t know. Put them up in All-Star and try not to panic all the time? Things aren’t horrible, but it’s so awkward. My dad hasn’t said more than three words to me at a time in about three years. Not that he said that much before.”

Jack shifts a half step close so that their shoulders are pressed together. “He’s an idiot. You’re a great son.”

Bitty snorts. “Thanks, Dad.”

Jack frowns. “Now, come on. I know I’m a robot according to Shitty, but I’m not a dad. If you met my dad, you’d understand.”

Bitty watches the guests file in and take their seats. Jenn looks at them and waves. “I don’t think I know anything about your father.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You don’t know who my father is?”

“Should I?”

Jack sighs and says, “He’s Bad Bob Zimmermann.”

Bitty knows that name. Of course he knows that name. He might not have known it before college, when he really got into actually being a hockey fan rather than just watching it. “You’re actually shitting me.”

Jack laughs and shakes his head. “Nope. Jack Zimmermann, son of Bob and Alicia Zimmermann. I swear, you can google it, it’s all online.”

“Alright, I believe you,” Bitty says with his hands up in a placating gesture. “How’d you end up at Disney?”

Jack shrugs. “You know, the usual: small mental breakdown, rehab, CRP, got my associate’s, came back to Disney, get my picture taken by guests rarely but enough that it’s weird.”

Bitty laughs and smacks Jack on the chest. “You know that is far from normal! And don’t think I’m not going to ask more questions about that at some point.”

Jack smiles and nods. “Fair.”

“Hey! Stop flirting!” Jenn walks by the gate and winks at them. “Maybe time to start the ride?”

Bitty flushes and nods, steps away from Jack and over to the computer chair by the desk. Jack pulls up a folding chair to sit next to him. Bitty is grateful for how dark it is in here, because Jack hopefully won’t see his blush. 

They weren’t flirting. They weren’t. They’re just two friends who were having a pleasant conversation. Jack was just smiling down at him, and comforting him, and sent his best friend to check on Bitty yesterday, and….oh.

The setting is far from romantic. Over a hundred speakers blast the Soarin’ theme at top volume, and Bitty can’t take his eyes off of the security screens for more than a few seconds. But when Jack leans in, puts his hand on Bitty’s back, and makes a joke about the kid who thought the Taj Mahal was the White House, Bitty realizes something, something he’s probably known for a while.

He is well and truly fucked.


	6. Chapter 6

Bitty's parents left two days ago and he's still emotionally recovering from the experience. It hadn't been terrible. He still loves his momma and there was at least one of the boys with him pretty much the whole time, so nothing horrible could have been said to him. 

Bitty thinks it might have been easier if his parents would just say something about it, instead of acting like it isn't happening, like he doesn't like boys. 

It's been just about a year since he came out to them. It was right after Josh proposed to him. Bitty genuinely thought everything was going to be okay. He had a good relationship with his parents. He was going to France. Everything was working out for the best. 

It took three months for all of that to fall apart. He and his parents spent a stony thanksgiving together after he came out, and by February his fiancée had cheated on him, and the scholarship for France had fallen through. 

He didn't even really bother to ask his parents for money at that point. He was just sitting on his couch with Chowder at two am and Chowder was talking about how he had applied to the College Program and-

Now he's standing in a huge crowd of people surrounded by Christmas decorations on November fourth while Kelly Clarkson belts out her songs over and over again and he pretends to be excited even though all he wants is to go to bed. Why did he agree to come to the filming of the Christmas special?

"I love the lights, don't you?" Jack's lips almost brush Bitty's ear when he leans down to talk to him over the din of the crowd. When Bitty turns to him, Jack has a speck of glitter caught in his eyelashes. 

Oh yeah. _That's_ why. 

Jack goes to this every year, usually with Shitty. But when Shitty had work and couldn't trade away his shift, he'd asked if Bitty wanted to come along. Bitty has a really hard time saying no to this boy, especially after he was so sweet to stick around and be charming when The Bittles were in town.

It’s not even Christmas, doesn’t feel remotely like Christmas after the week Bitty just had, but Jack looks so excited by all of the lights, it’s hard not to feel a little enchanted. By the Christmas season, obviously.

“Why do you come to this every year? It’s so crowded,” Bitty asks with a raised eyebrow. “And aren’t you Jewish?”

Jack snorts and nods. “I am. I actually never celebrated Christmas before I came here, but the way Disney does it…it’s fun, I guess. It’s not really about the religion to me. I hope that’s not offensive.”

Bitty waves his hand in a dismissive gesture and smiles softly. “No, I get it. I was raised Methodist but I’m not too religious myself, so I kind of get where you’re coming from, especially with Disney. Things here are good…bright.”

“Yeah,” Jack says with a smile that reaches his eyes, crinkling up the corners in a way that has Bitty clenching his fists. Jack bumps his shoulder into Bitty’s. “You know, it’s been an hour, and I’m getting kind of tired of hearing Please Come Home for Christmas. Want to ditch out and go ride Big Thunder?”

“Now you’re speaking my language.”

“I’m glad we keep having similar days off,” Jack says while they’re standing in line.

Bitty looks up from where he was playing with his phone and smiles at Jack. “Yeah, me too. I’m glad we’re friends, Jack. And seriously, thank you so much for hanging out with me and my parents, I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there to charm them. My mama said she’s glad I have a good friend like you.” He’s not going to mention the fact that Suzanne had thought they were dating when she first met Jack. 

“I’m glad I can-uh-be a good friend.” Jack’s jaw jumps and he coughs before nodding. “I’m sorry I was kind of a dick when you started.”

“It’s fine,” Bitty assures him, “if it had really been that horrible, I wouldn’t have applied to extend.” He shrugs and kicks at Jack’s ankle lightly. “Which, I got, by the way.”

Jack’s eyebrows shoot up. “Really? Bits, that’s so exciting. So you’re going to be here until-“

“May,” Bitty finishes for him with a grin. “They’re keeping me at Soarin’, too, so you can’t get rid of me yet.”

“I’m glad.” Jack nods at Bitty’s phone then and smiles. “Hey, why don’t we take one of those selfie things?”

Bitty looks up at Jack with wide surprised eyes. Jack has his hands in his pockets and his shoulders are slightly tense, but his smile is soft and easy. Bitty smiles and nods, fumbling to open up the camera app. 

“Maybe you can tweet it, eh?”

“Are you chirpin’ me, Mr. Zimmermann? Because I will not stand for it.” Bitty says indignantly but he’s laughing while he says it, so he doubts it holds the emotional punch he was going for. 

“Sure, Bittle.”

“Hush up and smile.”

Jack crowds in close to Bitty, standing just behind him, a little to the left. Bitty is only glad that his hands aren’t shaking as he tries to find an angle that looks good for both of them. Before he takes the picture, Jack says, “Hey, Bittle, I’ve been meaning to-“

“Is that Jack Zimmermann taking a selfie? And waiting in a standby line? Now I’ve seen everything.”

Bitty knows that voice, and he knows the way Jack’s body tenses up behind him, so he doesn’t need to lower his phone to know who it is. “Kent, hi!” he says tensely. Sure, there was a time when Bitty thought Kent was great, but he’s seen the way Jack can get around the other man, and something about that turns Bitty off to Kent.

Kent, for his part, is in the fastpass line, leaning up against the railing and letting people pass him. He’s got a snapback on backwards and a flannel shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He is, objectively, very handsome, but the smirk on his face makes Bitty’s skin crawl. 

“Hey, Evan, was it?” Kent smiles at Eric and winks. 

“Eric, actually.”

“My bad.”

Jack’s hand brushes Bitty’s hip briefly as he subtly moves him out of the way so that Jack is postured just in front of him. “Kent, what’s up?”

It’s forced casual and Bitty hates it, because it reminds him of Jack at the beginning of his program. 

“Oh, I’m just here on a date.” Kent takes a sip from his drink and gestures back toward the entrance to the line. “Alexei’s just buying a pretzel, so I’m waiting for him to catch up.”

“Alexei? Kent, are you kidding me?”

“You know, he agrees with me,” Kent continues, ignoring Jack. “He thinks you would be a good fit in GR too.”

Jack sighs and leans back against the handrail, his posture not so much defeated as it is clearly exhausted from having the same conversation repeatedly. Bitty feels a bit forgotten here, but he’s worried about what that easy smirk might turn into if he draws Kent’s attention to himself. 

“Kent, I’ve told you a million times, it’s just not what I’m looking for.”

“What? Better hours, more money?” Kent’s gaze flicks over to Bitty and back to Jack. “Not working with CPs who have no idea what the fuck they’re doing? Yeah, sounds horrible.”

Well, that one stung a bit. Bitty clears his throat and crosses his arms in front of himself. “You know, if you’re on a date maybe you should be focusing on that. You live with Jack, after all.”

“Yeah, Parse, we can talk about this later,” Jack cuts Parse off before he can snap back at Bitty and nods at a tall guy coming up the line. “Might want to go meet him.”

Kent clears his throat and adjusts his snapback as the tall guy comes up to the three of them. “Hey, ‘Lexei, let’s go.”

Alexei waves at Jack and nods at Bitty, offering a “Nice to see you!” to the both of them before heading off with Kent. Bitty watches them leave, heart still pounding.

He turns back to Jack, who has his bottom lip caught between his teeth. “Sorry for butting in, I just…didn’t want to hear him talk to you like that.”

Jack grimaces and shakes his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Thanks for having my back, Bits. Now come on, the back row is calling my name.”

Jack likes the back row, Bitty knows that, has fought with him on that many times. “Yeah, sounds great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vague tater mentions....i promise he becomes more important later


	7. Chapter 7

It’s four in the afternoon, Bitty has been in for forty-five minutes, and it’s already been the longest work day of his life. As soon as he went into rotation, they had an auto power disconnect, which means that the ride got stuck up in the air for a good half hour, guests cried, and they just got them down ten minutes ago, and no fewer than fifteen people have yelled at him since he got in. Jack was there to help, but he was busy being yelled at by his own handful of guests.

Still, Bitty handled it, and when it was over, right before walking away, Jack smiled and gave him a thumbs up. 

He’s just getting back into the swing of a regular, boring, stressful day at Soarin’ where things don’t get stuck for half an hour, when he hears someone say “Eric? Eric Bittle?” behind him. 

Bitty jumps slightly and turns around. Standing there, with his hands in his pockets and looking ruffled and handsome as ever is “Brendan?”

Brendan, who Bitty hooked up with at the party in June. Brendan, who is exactly as stunning as Bitty remembers. He’s grown out his hair a little, dark curls falling around his face and a smirk pulling at his lips in a way that makes him look like the poster of Harry Styles Bitty had in high school.

Gosh, Bitty can’t believe he’s actually sucked that guy’s dick. 

“Hey, Eric,” Brendan says and nods at him. “D’you mind if I wait for the first row?”

“Yeah, sure! Just stand off to the side here.”

“Cool.”

Bitty looks around for something to do but the gate is loaded and everyone is waiting for the preshow to start. He’s got a solid minute before that happens. Damn, they’re working fast today.

“So how are you, Brendan? It’s been a while.” 

Brendan laughs and flicks his hair out of his eyes. “Yeah, it has. I actually just got told that I’m getting hired part time when my CP is over, so that’s exciting.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I extended, so I’ll be here too.”

Brendan smiles and leans up against the wall, crosses his arms across his chest, and gives Eric a smile that he’s absolutely certain gets used when he’s being Flynn. “You know, you never called me.”

Bitty flushes and checks around himself for guests. This is so inappropriate. If any of his managers or coordinators saw, he’d absolutely get a talking to. If Jack saw….

“Yeah, I’m so sorry about that! I guess work got away from me.” Bitty plasters a smile on his face as he talks, and takes a step back, dying to end this conversation as soon as possible. Sure, Brendan is handsome, but Bitty is at work and he’s-

Well he’s just not looking for a relationship right now. At least, not with Brendan. “Sorry, I should probably go run over a few checks.”

Brendan nods and winks. “That’s fine. Just…shoot me a text, alright? I’d love to hang again.”

Bitty’s face is red hot, but he manages to walk away without actually dying, and only gets a few weird looks from his coworkers when he goes to open the door, and his face is still bright red. 

Of course, he doesn’t completely get away with it. He’s on break, scrolling through his phone and eating a bag of plantain chips when Pat and Melissa sit on either side of him, twin smiles on their faces. 

“So,” Melissa starts, taking a chip from Bitty’s bag, “Jenn said you had a gentleman caller in the gates earlier today.”

“Yes, dear Eric, tell us about this Prince Charming,” Pat adds with a grin that shows off his teeth, stained yellow by his diet of cigarettes and mountain dew. 

“Aren’t you both adults? With children?” Bitty tries hopelessly to get them to drop the subject, but both of them simply lean in and grin even wider. “Ugh, fine. If you must know, he wasn’t a Prince Charming. He’s a Flynn.”

The break room door opens as Melissa and Pat let out howls of laughter and Jack walks in, carrying a stack of what looks like coloring sheets. “Hey, everyone. Kelsey made holiday decorations for all of you to color, and we’ll hang them up.” He puts down the stack of paper ornaments, menorahs, and Christmas trees in the middle of the table along with a box of crayons.

“Thanks Jack!” Bitty says probably too loudly.

Jack looks at Bitty and raises an eyebrow. He turns to Pat and Melissa. “Why does Bittle look like you’ve been harassing him?”

“Because we’ve been harassing him.” Melissa takes another plantain chip and pops it into her mouth. “He had a Flynn come and visit him today.”

Jack’s mouth falls open into a gape a bit like a fish’s before he snaps his jaw shut and turns to Bitty with a tight smile. “Oh, the-uh-the guy from the party? Brian?”

“Brendan,” Bitty corrects through a tight smile.

“I didn’t know you were still…seeing him.”

“Oh! I’m not, he just was riding and we were chatting. Nothing big.”

“Jenn said he told Eric to text him,” Melissa supplies helpfully. 

Jack nods slowly and claps his hands together. “Well, that’s nice.” 

Bitty wonders if he wills it hard enough, if he can just melt through the floor. Instead, he just awkwardly laughs and shrugs. “I’m probably not going to text him. I mean, he was just a hookup what? Six months ago? A lot has changed since then.”

“Yeah, it has.” Jack’s mouth twitches up at the corner and he ruffles Bitty’s hair before heading out. “Hey, good job on the APD earlier today, by the way.”

-

In retrospect, drinking every time Holster breaks out into song while in Hollywood Studios was a bad idea, both for his wallet and his liver. Still he’s having fun. The rules, as set by Shitty, are as as follows:

• Every time he sings along with the atmospheric music (including humming), take a drink  
• If he starts shuffling his feet in a half-dance: take a drink  
• Air guitar or any other air instruments: two drinks  
• Shouting “oh I LOVE THIS SONG”, or identifying the movie the song is from: take a drink  
• Any pelvic thrusting: finish your drink

Long story short, Bitty is trashed at six pm. He did not expect the spiked frozen lemonade from Dockside Diner to be so strong, but damn is it delicious. The mango daiquiri at Fairfax Fare was still his favorite, but this was certainly his favorite on this side of the park. 

Shitty has his arm slung around Lardo’s shoulders, and is humming along to Holster’s singing when Lardo finally says, “Okay, boys, this has to end. If any of us get more drunk, we’re going to be fired.”

Shitty nods and leans further into Lardo’s space. “The tiny one is right.”

“Thanks, Shits.”

Bitty laughs at the two of them and shakes his head. When he’d first introduced them, he was worried. Shitty had seemed infatuated with Lardo, and she’s absolutely a lesbian, so Bitty was worried he was going to have to run interference. But then Shitty came out to him as aromantic asexual, and well. 

Bitty guesses some people were just meant to be friends. 

Ransom and Holster are holding hands, which is a new but not surprising development, and walking just ahead of Bitty, caught up in their own conversation. Bitty, meanwhile, is fiddling with his phone. Brendan texted him that morning, and he still hasn’t texted him back. There’s a reason Bitty never has read receipts on. 

“Yo, that’s my roommate!” Shitty says suddenly, pointing at two guys ahead of them wearing snapbacks and holding hands. 

“Shits, that’s not Kent and that’s certainly not Jack.”

Shitty laughs and looks at Bitty like he’s got two heads. “No, it’s Johnson!”

Johnson? Bitty is pretty sure he’s never heard of a Johnson, certainly not one that lives with Jack and Shitty. “Oh, did you get a new roommate?”

Shitty stops in his tracks. “Wait, Bits, do you seriously not know that there’s a fourth guy who lives in our house?”

“Uh, no? Rans, Holtz, did you know about Johnson?”

Holster says, “No,” at the same time Ransom says, “Chyeah, cool dude.”

“Ransom, you know Johnson?” Bitty asks with a raised eyebrow. 

Ransom nods and takes a sip of his coke. He was smart enough to stop drinking half an hour ago. “Yeah, he always hooks me up with Test Track fastpasses.”

“He set me up with Camilla,” Lardo adds. “Honestly though….I have no idea where he works.”

Shitty frowns and rubs his mustache thoughtfully. From the look on his face, he doesn’t know either. “I’m pretty sure he works at either Small World or Energy. Maybe Primeval Whirl.”

“Oh, so, he works somewhere in Disney World,” Holster says with mock enthusiasm. Ransom laughs and leans into his side. Bitty thinks they’ve been dating for longer than any of them know. 

Bitty’s phone buzzes and his stomach twists when he sees it’s another text from Brendan. Apparently, he’s bored af. 

Bitty should text him. He should really, really text him. Brendan is hot and Bitty hasn’t gotten laid in _so long._ He types out about four drafts of the same text before anyone notices. Of course, the worst possible person notices. 

“Bits! Little Bittle! Who on earth are you texting and blushing like a spring chicken on the first Tuesday of June?”

Bitty has no idea what Shitty was trying to say, and part of him wants to ignore it, but most of him cannot believe that he just heard those words in that order. “Shitty, that’s not…that’s not a thing that people say. Ever. What does that even mean?”

“It means that my tiny bro is obviously texting a hot boy and not telling us about it,” Shitty answers with a grin. “So, tell us who it is.”

Bitty shakes his head and stows his pocket in his back pocket. In hindsight, this was a bad idea because it allows Lardo to immediately snatch it out of said pocket. He’s not sure how she knows his passcode, but it’s not at all surprising to him that she does. “Oh my god, is this Brendan that you were telling me about?”

“….No.” Bitty knows he doesn’t stand a fucking chance of convincing her, but he tries to lie anyways. 

“It totally is. And he’s bored, guys! Hot Brendan is bored and texting our little Bitty about it.” Lardo shakes her shoulders and starts tapping away at his phone. “I think we should throw the poor guy a bone, don’t you?”

Ransom and Holster both cheer, and Shitty looks over Lardo’s shoulder at the text. “Larissa, in another universe, I would totally marry you.”

“Shits, I’d still be a lesbian and you’d still be aro. So unless it’s a marriage for tax purposes, absolutely not going to happen.”

“You so get me.”

Lardo taps once more on Bitty’s phone and clicks it off. “There, done.”

Bitty takes his phone back, and is honestly too afraid to even check what she sent. “Lards, what did you do?”

“You have a date, Bits.”


	8. Chapter 8

Street hockey with the Canadians is an activity that Jack started in the parking lot by the Chatham pool when he was a CP. Since then, it’s become a monthly thing, one of the many traditions of the pavilion that are held dear and sacred by those who work there. He’s just glad they still invite him, because they really don’t have to.

It seems that this month, though, they’ve invited a few other visitors. Jack is surprised to see Bitty and some of his roommates there, but it’s not a bad surprise. Ransom worked in the Canada Pavilion before, after all, some of the current CRPs probably still remember him and invited him, gave him permission to invite his roommates.

Jack is late, so all of the good sticks are gone, but he always brings his own anyways, so he can’t really be upset. He stands off to the side and watches as Bitty runs around the parking lot, stick in hands and a light sheen of sweat on his forehead and he tilts his head back and laughs when Chowder stops a shot and rolls into a somersault.

Holster is leaning on his own stick next to Jack, and elbows him slightly. “Kids a little rocket, isn’t he?”

Jack snorts and watches Bitty run and weave through the other players. He’s clearly not going as fast as he can, but it’s fun to watch, and Jack can’t seem to look away. He’s looked up Bittle, he’s only a little bit embarrassed to say, and he was good. First out captain of an NCAA team, took his team all the way to the finals, only to be beaten in the last half of the third period. Fast, energetic, and Jack has to admit that it’s startlingly attractive. “Yeah, crazy little fucker.”

“You know, I think I’m the only one in that apartment who can’t skate,” Holster says idly, “I thought about playing-I’m from Buffalo, all my friends did-but I was really busy with piano. Now I just look like an idiot out there with them.”

“That why you’re standing on the sidelines?”

“Yeah, and Katie made me. Apparently, I’m a detriment to both teams,” Holster says with a snort, nodding at the Canadian girl with a bob cut. Jack snorts, because that is exactly Katie’s personality. 

“She always makes me play on her team or as goalie,” Jack says without taking his eyes off the game. Bitty catches his eye and smiles. He holds up a hand and gives Jack a little half-wave. 

When Jack was in high school, he read about a woman who had a wave so perfect it made men think about her for days.

Bitty starts making faces at Jack and Katie notices, so she calls time on the game. Chowder and Ransom come over and give Bitty noogies. He flushes and when he smiles he meets Jack’s eyes again.

“Bittle, I had no idea you could tear it up like that,” Jack says when Bitty finally makes his way over to him. 

“Ah, well.” Bitty runs a hand through his hair and puts a hand on his hip. “Don’t forget, I did play in college.”

“Well it payed off.”

“Yes, it’s always been my dream to win at ball hockey.” Bitty flips his hair out of his face. Jack’s stomach flips and he tries to tamp it down.

“You’re kind of small for hockey,” is all that Jack can think to say, and like an idiot, he does.

Bitty’s face flickers from happiness to disappointment and back again, this time more guarded. He takes a step back. Jack hates himself.

“Well, Mister Zimmermann, not all of us can be built like hockey stars.”

Jack clears his throat as though the action can clear the air between them, somehow make it less awkward. “Hey, I was going to go to Hollywood Studios on Friday. Do you want to tag along?”

Bitty frowned and seemed to consider it for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Why?”

Bitty turns a shade of pink and ducks his head. He laughs in a way that seems like it’s part of an inside joke that Jack isn’t a part of. “I, uh, I have a date.”

“Oh. That’s cool,” Jack says even though the pit of his stomach is twisting with something he doesn’t care to try to identify. Of course Bitty has a date. Why wouldn’t he? He’s young and smart and handsome and….

And Jack is technically his boss. He shakes his head and forces a smile onto his lips. “Well, have fun. Let me know if you want to hang out soon.”

The game restarts soon after that, and Katie recruits Jack to her team, putting him right up against Bitty in a faceoff. He plays hard, and tries not to let himself be too distracted by the way Bitty grins and the way his shirt rides up a bit when he cellies after a goal. 

-

He could have cancelled. He could have texted Brendan and stopped the date before it began, but something stopped him every time he hovered over the contact in his phone. Every time he felt just the tiniest bit of hope that what he wanted could happen, the sickly sweet taste of rejection caught in his throat and he couldn’t do it. Brendan was nice, Brendan wanted him. Brendan was there and asking for him. 

Brendan had big soft hands that held Bitty’s smaller one while they walked around world showcase. It was the tail end of food and wine, and Bitty was sated by the various dishes he’d tried with Brendan. The lights shone on the lagoon in a hazy dreamlike fashion and Bitty thought maybe this wasn’t the worst date he’d ever been on.

Brendan was talking, although about what, Bitty couldn’t tell you. He had tuned out the droning of the other man some time ago, choosing instead to take in his surroundings. Besides, it’s not like the other man had said anything of substance all night.

“Can I kiss you?”

This breaks through Bitty’s reverie and he turns his face back up to Brendan with a soft smile. He nods and leans forward. “Yes, of course.”

Brendan’s lips are soft and plush just like he remembers. He bites them, Bitty has noticed, and the flakes of skin catch against Bitty’s lips. Bitty closes his eyes and lets the taller man kiss him. He’s a good kisser. Bitty wonders if Jack is as good at this as Brendan.

No, it’s better not to think like that. Bitty forces all thoughts of Jack out of his mind and moves his hands from Brendan’s biceps up to the back of his neck. He’s nowhere near as built as Jack looks, his muscles are lithe and slender, but just defined enough to give him a prince look, not the athletic build of Jack Zimmermann. 

He would normally be embarrassed about so much PDA, but they’re tucked off to the side between the UK and France pavilions, in one of the shadowy spaces by International Gateway. Besides, he’s had enough wine to make himself feel loose enough for this. 

Brendan pulls away, and Bitty feels his face grow hot when he sees the way Brendan’s lower lip is slightly swollen from the kiss. He really is handsome. 

“Wow, you’re an even better kisser than I remember,” Brendan says around a slightly goofy grin. 

Bitty pats him on the chest and leans up to peck him on the lips again. “Well, I was drunk last time. I should hope I’m better.”

“You’re not sober now,” Brendan retorts with a raised eyebrow.

“There’s a difference between a few wine samples and getting wasted on whatever it was that Holster mixed up that night.”

An announcement comes over the loudspeakers in the park, announcing tht Illuminations is going to start soon. “Illuminations is going to start soon,” Brendan says redundantly. Bitty laughs at him quietly. 

“Do you want to watch?”

Brendan shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “I’m not really a big fan of fireworks. We could go ride something instead?”

Bitty nods and tangles his fingers with Brendan’s again. He pulls him along back toward future world. “The park closes in ten minutes, so whatever we get in line for right now will probably be the last thing we do.”

“That’s cool.”

“Land or Seas?” Bitty carefully does not say Soarin’. He’s not sure he can handle that right now. 

“Seas,” Brendan answers and Bitty tries not to let out a relieved sigh. “I love Nemo.”

“Me too!” 

They wind their way through the almost criminally long queue space for Nemo, something Bitty is sure is useful during the day when it’s crowded but now, in the utter absence of a line, seems completely useless. Brendan doesn’t let go of his hand the whole time they’re making their way through. The girl, Kayla, working the ride sees them and looks almost surprised to see someone coming through her line at 8:55. Nevertheless, she straightens up from her slouch and waves hello cheerily. 

“Hi! How many?”

Brendan looks between them and frowns. “Uh…two.”

“Great! Right this way!” She gestures toward the clam shells. “Watch your step, and have a great time!” Bitty is fairly certain she saw her wink. 

The ride is dark and they’re pretty much the only ones on it, which in retrospect, Bitty thinks, is probably the reason Brendan chose it. He scoots in close to Bitty and wraps an arm around him, angles his body so that he’s practically facing him. “Is this okay?”

Bitty hisses in a sharp intake of breath and nods before jolting up and pressing his lips to Brendan’s again in a kiss that is much fiercer than the one in world showcase. He thinks momentarily about whoever is watching the security cameras. They’ve probably seen worse. 

It’s easy to lose himself in the kiss, to lose himself in the fact that he’s having a romantic moment at Disney, the kind of thing that he always dreamed about. It’s picture perfect, Bitty being kissed and held in the most magical place on earth by a man with large hands and dark hair and eyes so blue he can imagine drowning in them.

Blue eyes? Bitty realizes he doesn’t even remember what color Brendan’s eyes are. He pulls away from the kiss and puts his hand on Brendan’s cheek and tries to make it look romantic when he tries to identify the color. 

Hazel. Brendan has hazel eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

It’s an unusually cold day for December in Florida. The weather forecast has them topped out at 45, and Bitty is absolutely freezing as he walks around world showcase in the two hours before his shift starts. He normally stays home before his late afternoon shifts and does laundry, but today he’d had the urge to pull out one of his rarely-used sweatshirts and actually enjoy himself for once. 

Of course, the universe is determined to never let himself completely enjoy himself. He’s got a cup of (watery) hot chocolate cradled in his hands when he stops at the shops in Canada to warm his cheeks up a bit when he looks to his left to see one Jack Zimmermann wearing a dark blue Henley that pulls across his chest in a way that should be _criminal_ and smirking at Bitty like there’s some inside joke between the two of them that Bitty just forgot. “It’s not that cold out, Bittle.”

Of course. Bitty rolls his eyes and throw out his half-finished cocoa in the the trash can by him before making his way over to Jack. “It is so cold. It’s only 42 degrees out right now, Mister Zimmermann.”

“I think you mean six.”

“Har har, Mister Zimmermann,” Bitty retorts, “Celsius is just so much better, isn’t it. But you played yourself, because six sounds _way colder_ than 42.”

Jack shrugs and quirks his mouth up in a smile. He leans up against the shelf next to him, only to knock a moose plushie off of the shelf. The cast member working raises an eyebrow at Jack, and Bitty can’t hold in his snicker when the man in question flushes and picks it up with a quiet “sorry.”

“You don’t normally have Tuesdays off,” Bitty remarks. It’s only kind of embarrassing that he knows by now that Jack’s regular days off are Thursday and Friday.

Jack, however, doesn’t seem to think this is weird, because he just shrugs. “My parents are in town. I spent the morning with them and we’re getting dinner at Monsieur Paul tonight.”

Bitty looks around and finds nobody else in the shop. Normally, this wouldn’t be weird, because the Canada Pavilion is practically deserted on a good day, but, “Where are they now?”

“Maman’s in the spa, Dad’s meeting with some charity people.” Jack shakes his head. “Is it horrible that I’m kind of glad to be away from them for a little bit? The only times I ever get recognized anymore are with them.”

“I can imagine that’s exhausting.”

Jack snorts. “You don’t know the half of it. I like it a lot better when I’m around people like you. People who don’t care who my parents are.”

He’s smiling down at Bitty and the silence stretches between the two of them. It’s not uncomfortable or awkward, it’s almost comfortable. Bitty would be willing to live in this kind of silence with Jack for the rest of his life.

His phone buzzes. 

_hey babe wanna come over after work tonight??_ Bitty reads the text message and breathes out a sigh that feels like he’s been holding his breath for three days. “It’s Brendan.”

Jack’s face tightens slightly, and Bitty can see his shoulders hitch up just a bit. He crosses his arms over his chest. “Oh. What does he want?”

“He-uh-he wants to know if I can come over later.” Bitty really does not want to be talking about this. Especially with Jack. It’s not that he doesn’t like Brendan, he really does, but everyone seems to think it’s more than what it is. He’s not his boyfriend, it’s not serious, it’s just fun. After the last year and a half of Bitty’s life, he thinks he deserves some fun, and he hates the way he feels _guilty_ talking to Jack about it. 

“That’s…nice.” Jack sounds like that isn’t the word he wants to use and Bitty’s heart hiccups with something like hope for a second before he squashes it down. Jack has had plenty of opportunity to say something. The fact that he hasn’t says a whole lot more than any stupid looks he might give Bitty. 

So Bitty shrugs and smiles. “It’s fun. He’s a nice guy.”

“Is he staying here in Florida?” 

Bitty shakes his head. “He’s going back to New York, going to try his hand at becoming a ‘real actor.’” He uses his fingers to create air quotes around the words and can’t help but roll his eyes a bit at it. 

Jack seems to find it equally funny because he lets out a sharp huff of breath through his nose. Bitty bites his lip and meets Jack’s eyes for a second before his fitbit starts buzzing. “Oh, time for me to head to work.”

Jack’s eyes crinkle when he puts his hand on Bitty’s shoulder and squeezes slightly. “Have fun, eh? My parents and I will probably be around later.”

“I look forward to it.”

He means it.

-

Things with Kent are tense on a good day. On a bad day…well, things like Thunder Mountain happen. Today, luckily, isn’t a bad day, but it isn’t a good day either. Not by far. Of course, Jack can’t really escape this today, not like he normally does. No, Jack is stuck here with Kent because Bob Zimmermann is actually a fan of Kent Parson as a person. 

When Jack did his CRP, he and Kent were close. Best friends, even. When Bob came down to visit, he and Kent had gotten on like a house on fire, and Jack was happy about that. It was before he and Kent had really _done_ anything, but Jack had thought about it a lot. Bob liking Kent was just another step towards that maybe being a real thing. He had just been putting his life back together after the draft and Kent…Kent felt like moving on. 

Then Jack had a particularly dramatic anxiety attack, decided not to take the part time offer from Disney, dumped Kent without much explanation, and moved back to Canada. If he’s being honest, it probably wasn’t his most shining moment. It didn’t help that Kent took it harder than he thought it would.

They never talked about it. It was weird when Jack first moved in with him, but as the years stretched on, it only got more tense and awkward until Jack felt like he couldn’t broach the topic. The longer they went without talking to each other about anything, really, the snappier Kent got, and the more defensive Jack got. 

It wasn’t great.

So to be sitting here at Cape May Café having breakfast with his parents and Kent, well, it’s not Jack’s ideal Friday morning. 

Of course, Bob and Alicia are acting like none of it happened. Jack is sure they have something up their collective sleeve, if the way Bob keeps smiling at the two of them is anything to go by. “So,” he starts, turning to Kent, “I hear you’re dating Alexei now.”

Jack grips his fork until his knuckles turn white. It’s petty, he knows, but Alexei was his friend first, and he’s not entirely convinced that Kent isn’t dating him just to make Jack uncomfortable. 

(He knows that’s not the case. Kent has spent the last few months pining over the Russian man.)

“Yeah, it’s going well.” Kent’s cheeks turn slightly pink and he ducks his head. “He gets me, you know?”

“I’m happy for you, son. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you happy like this.” Bob claps Kent on the shoulder. At least this time, Jack knows both of them are tense.

Kent laughs awkwardly and nods. “Well, Alexei is an open communicator. That helps.”

Jack can’t help the _tch_ that comes out of his mouth. Alicia raises an eyebrow at him. He’s sure Kent is glaring at him, too, but Jack cannot bring himself to actually look at him.

“Have something you want to say, Jack?” Bob prods. Jack honestly cannot believe his father has chosen to do this in public, at breakfast.

“I just...sometimes it’s hard to communicate when the other person isn’t making any moves either,” Jack grits out. He’s worried he might actually bend his fork if his grip gets any tighter, so he puts it down. 

“Well, maybe the person who started the awkwardness should be the one to talk about it,” Kent quips back. Jack whips his head to him in surprise and Kent doesn’t show any signs of backing down. “I didn’t do this, Jack.”

Alicia clears her throat and stands up suddenly. “I think I left something up in the room. Bobby, come with me?”

“Sounds like a great idea!” Bob stands up as well and in a flash, Jack’s parents are gone. They meddle too much for their own good.

Clearly surprised by the Zimmermann’s exit, Kent seems to have let his guard slip for a moment. “Oh my god, I should have seen this coming.”

“You didn’t see this coming?” Jack asks incredulously. His parents have never been particularly subtle. 

But Kent looks lost and younger than 27 and Jack can’t help but think that they haven’t had a civil conversation in ages. Sure, Kent needles and picks at parts of Jack that he knows are kind of sensitive, but Jack hasn’t been kind to him, either. He hasn’t listened to a thing that Kent has said for the last year and a half. He hasn’t even tried. Maybe his parents were onto something. “I’m sorry,” he blurts out. 

Kent looks downright shocked. His eyebrows seem to be close to making an actual escape from his face. “Oh. Oh shit, we’re doing this, aren’t we?”

Jack shrugs. “I don’t think my parents are coming back anytime soon.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Kent lets out a surprised huff of laughter. “For the record, I’m sorry too. I’ve been a massive dick lately.”

Jack bites back the _Lately?_ that’s on the tip of his tongue, though he’s sure Kent can see it. “I should have talked to you about it. When I came back, I should have talked to you.”

Kent shrugs and stabs at a grape tomato on his plate. “It’s not like I tried either.”

“I dumped you. It was kind of my responsibility, Kent.”

“Yeah,” Kent sighs out like he’s finally admitting it. “I shouldn’t be a dick about every person you date. I know I don’t get a say in that.”

“It’s okay. You really like Alexei?”

“Yeah,” Kent says with a soft smile, “I really really do. He’s great.”

“Good.” Jack runs a hand through his hair. “You think we can be friends again?”

Kent tilts his head to the side and nods slowly. “Probably not right away? But we can try, I think.”

-

Bitty doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. Really, he has absolutely no reason to be nervous. He’s just going to Magic Kingdom to hang out with Shitty and Jack. It’s not abnormal for him. 

Well, it wouldn’t be abnormal were it not for the fact that Bob and Alicia Zimmermann are going to be there. _Holy shit._ He can do this. He’s an adult and the Zimmermanns are just the parents of one of his close friends. It’s not a big deal.

It’s not.

Of course, they’re absolutely lovely people and Bitty would honestly wonder where Jack’s personality came from, but they’ve spent enough hours talking about their respective childhoods for Bitty to know better than that. It’s part of the reason he was so nervous to meet them. 

Bob takes to him immediately, and Jack has apparently at least mentioned Bitty, because Bob starts right off the bat asking about recipes. Bitty firmly squashes down any feelings in his chest about that particular idea. 

Alicia compliments his outfit and Bitty thinks he might die when he starts having a conversation with an actual model about fashion. This is honestly too much for him.

He actually hardly speaks to Jack at all until they’re finding their spots for the three o’clock parade and Jack starts teasing him about being so specific about where he likes to watch it. 

“Well, I’m sorry, I’d like to actually watch the parade at three, instead of waiting half an hour for it to reach main street,” Bitty flips his hair out of his eyes and raises an eyebrow at Jack. “I know you being Mister Photography, you don’t care about all that.”

Jack chuckles. It’s the kind of laugh that Shitty always calls ‘Dadly,’ but Bitty just finds charming. Too charming. He ducks his head and smiles at his keds. “Sure, Bittle, whatever you say.”

And the thing is, the reason why Bitty was so nervous to come out here today, is that moments like these are always too comfortable. Moments where Jack smiles at him and gently ribs him are too much for him to handle. Throw in Bitty meeting his parents and…well, he’s not entirely sure how anyone expects him to handle this like an adult. 

Luckily for him, the parade starts, and he’s saved by being able to sing along to the Festival of Fantasy song and wave at the performers. It’s delightful. Bitty really loves this parade.

The Tangled float comes rolling by and of course it’s Brendan today of all days, on the float and waving like a real actual Disney Prince. He spots Bitty in the crowd, points and winks. The teenage girls standing in front of them erupt into giggles and shouts of “He winked at me!”, which makes Shitty erupt into raucous laughter. 

Jack’s elbow touches Bitty’s arm and he thinks it’s just a nudge but the point of contact stays. Bitty looks up to meet the other man’s eyes, but he doesn’t even look at Bitty. It was probably an accident. 

After the parade, Bitty hears Alicia ask Shitty, “why were you laughing so hard about Flynn Rider?”

Shitty snorts again and claps Alicia on the shoulder. “Leesh, my dude, that Flynn is little Bitty’s beau.”

“What?”

“Yeah, they started dating like three weeks ago.”

Alicia’s eyebrows meet in the center of her forehead before she shakes her head and the expression clears. “Oh. But I thought….well, never mind. Who wants dole whips?”


	10. Chapter 10

Eric Richard Bittle is an adult. He is 22 years old, owns a car, and eats vegetables every day. He’s certifiably an adult. 

Which is what makes it ridiculous that he’s actively groping his date (boyfriend?) on spaceship earth, pausing only to quote “Thank the Phoenicians” with Judy Dench. But what can he say? He’s been working for eleven days straight, this is the first of four days off, and he’s horny as hell. 

He’s an adult, he’s had three glasses of wine today, and he’s going to let himself grab Brendan’s ridiculously muscular inner thigh. It is Epcot, after all. Anything goes. 

When the cart flips around and starts going backwards, Brendan leans back and sighs. “Okay, I need a second to cool down before I have to stand up in front of another cast member.”

Bitty giggles and leans in to nip at his jaw. “Fine. But I think we should leave after this.”

Brendan looks down at him with bright eyes, one brow lifted. “Oh yeah?”

Bitty trails his hand up and down Brendan’s leg. “Yeah. I’ve missed you.”

“Missed me? Or missed this?” 

Bitty hums and smiles. “A little bit of both. I mean, who can blame me?”

They’re both decent by the time they get off of the ride and waste no time scurrying to the parking lot to get home. Bitty leans across the center console of his mostly functional Hyundai to kiss Brendan even more deeply than he did in the parks, when his phone buzzes. He groans and pulls it out of his pocket. 

_Hey Eric, want to grab dinner with me and Shitty later?_

Bitty groans and puts his phone down in the cup holder harder than absolutely necessary. 

“Everything alright, Babe?” Brendan runs his fingers through Bitty’s fringe and frowns at him. God, his lips are so plush and his eyes….

Wait. There are other things happening. “Oh, it’s fine. Just one of my coordinators.”

“Is he like…harassing you?”

Bitty sighs and shakes his head. Jack isn’t harassing him, and honestly, that might be part of the problem. He’s so nice. “No. He’s just distracting me. I’d rather focus on you, sweetheart.” 

“I like the sound of that.”

Bitty drives home with Brendan’s hand resting far too high on his leg, and is incredibly grateful for the fact that all of his roommates are working until late tonight when he gets inside the door and Brendan is on him immediately. Bitty moans into the kiss, the door behind him the only thing keeping his knees from crumpling. When he regains his strength, he walks them over toward the couch, attempting to undo Brendan’s belt the whole while. Brendan’s knees hit the couch and he sits down, leaving Bitty to scramble into his lap. 

He's just about to reach into Brendan’s pants when the front door opens and Bitty springs back. “You’re suppsed to be at work!”

“You don’t even know who I am,” Dex answers, and Bitty can practically hear his eyeroll. “I got an ER. Hey, Brendan.”

“Hey, Will.”

Bitty groans and crawls off of Brendan’s lap. “Hello, William.”

“You know, I know you definitely weren’t about to have sex on the couch, but you should be glad it was me that walked in on you doing it and not Holster.”

“Yeah, yeah. Congrats on your ER,” Bitty says with mock enthusiasm. He stands and cracks his back, something he’s taken to doing at least once an hour since he started with Disney, and walks over to the freezer. “Oh my god, who took all the ice and didn’t refill the tray?”

“Ransom,” Dex responds without looking up from his phone. 

“How do you even know that?” Brendan asks.

Bitty barks out a laugh. “It’s _always_ Ransom. He’s Canadian, so he can’t handle the heat.”

“But it’s December.”

“December in Florida.”

Dex harrumphs and nods. “He’s weak. And I’m from Maine, so I should know. I’m just glad to be moving out of this place and into the apartment I got for my PI in a few weeks, so I never have to deal with empty ice cube trays again.”

“Oh please, you don’t think Nursey will do the same thing just to annoy you?” Bitty asks. “Now, if you don’t mind, Brendan and I are going to go to my room.”

“Before I forget, can you drive me to the airport on January 3rd?” Brendan asks as Bitty pulls him up from the couch.

Bitty stops. “Oh, uh-you’re leaving. I guess I didn’t realize how soon that is.” Somehow, he’d forgotten that…well, that it was almost all over. Bitty might be extending, and Dex has his Imagineering PI, but Brendan is going back to New York. 

Brendan grins crookedly and gives Bitty a little shove on his shoulder. “Aw, _babe_ are you going to miss me?”

“I mean…probably? I’ve had a lot of fun with you.”

“That’s fucking adorable, but Eric, you know we’re not anything, right?”

Before Bitty can answer, Dex clears his throat to draw their attention and waves awkwardly when they look at him. “So, uh, I’m gunna go…harass my boyfriend at work. Want anything? Burger? Pizza? Dental floss? No? Okay, bye.”

Dex’s graceful exit is punctuated by the door closing behind him, and Bitty turns back to Brendan, suddenly feeling defensive and embarrassed. He crosses and uncrosses his arms a few times while he tries to tamp down the urge to yell at Brendan for making him feel like a child. Instead he bites his tongue and only says, “I know we’re not anything, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to say I’ll miss you. Why are you laughing?”

Brendan chuckles once more and shakes his head. “I just think it’s funny because you’re the one who wasn’t sure if he wanted to date in the first place.”

“Please don’t make me feel like an idiot for enjoying having you as a friend,” Bitty cocks his hip and raises an eyebrow in what he hopes is a somewhat intimidating gesture. 

“Friends? Is that what we are?” Brendan steps in close again and puts his hands on Bitty’s hips. The speed with which he switches back into sex mode is honestly enough to give Bitty whiplash. 

“Less and less so for the minute.”

“Hm, I think I can fix that,” Brendan says before picking Bitty up and throwing him over his shoulder. 

“This isn’t helping your case!”

-

Bitty looks so cute, it should be criminal. He genuinely, honestly, looks spectacular. If anything has made working at Disney worth it, it’s this moment, right now. 

The moment when he’s dressed and ready to work the Christmas party in a costume that had to have been made for Eric Richard Bittle specifically. He’s got his hair styled perfectly and has the incredible urge to take a million pictures of himself. He decides that if there was ever a moment to indulge that urge, this is the moment. He is a popular baking youtuber, after all. 

“Oh my god, someone please take my picture, because I look amazing.” Lardo bursts into their apartment, decked out in her own Christmas Party costume. Bitty doesn’t bother wondering how on earth she even got in, because it’s always best to not question her. “Camilla’s coming to the party tonight, so I’m gunna blow her mcfucking mind with how good I look.”

“How are things with her, by the way?” Bitty asks. 

Lardo shrugs but there’s a smile tugging at her lips. “She’s either going to break my heart or I’m going to marry her.”

“Lesbians, I swear.”

Lardo makes an indignant noise, but doesn’t refute his assertion. “So are you ready?”

“Yes, but first, let’s get Chowder to take a picture of us.”

Right on cue, Chowder’s head pops over the top bunk. “I heard my name.”

“How did you even hear us? You have your headphones in.”

Chowder shrugs and starts the entirely ungraceful process of climbing down from his bed. “I was just watching old recordings of Spectromagic and Tapestry of Nations. Trying to pull clips for my next vlog.”

Lardo hums. “And what’s the theme for the famous freezingnemo vlog?” Chowder has gained an almost ridiculous amount of followers since starting work at Disney, despite the fact that he’s been running this channel on and off since high school. 

“Disney World parades that we need back.”

“And you chose Tapestry of nations?” Bitty asks incredulously.

“We just don’t have enough puppets here.”

An hour, and a harrowing trip through the tunnels (why do they smell like that?) later, Bitty and Lardo are looking amazing while putting wristbands on people who are far too excited for cookies and hot chocolate. Bitty is getting into the Holiday soundtrack and doing his own version of the “my feet hurt” dance, occasionally pulling faces at Lardo to make her mix up her scripts. When she greets a family with “Hi, wrist ticket thanks?” he counts himself a winner. 

He’s been wristbanding for about an hour and a half when he hears a “Bittle?” that makes him turn around with a grin that he wishes he could tamp down. 

“Well, Hiya Jack! And Alicia, you’re back in our neck of the woods! How are ya?” Bitty grins at the two of them, especially at Alicia, who’s wearing a Mickey Ear santa hat and leaning on her son’s (remarkably muscular) arm. 

“Oh, I’m great!” Alicia says, just a bit too loudly. “Jack and I just got dinner at Morimoto. Have you tried their Winter Wonderland cocktail?”

“No, I haven’t gotten the chance yet, but it looks like you have!” Alicia clearly isn’t _drunk_ but she’s got the definite lean and enthusiasm of a Mom who is tipsy. It’s something that Bitty’s gotten good at identifying here at Disney. “Where’s your husband?”

Jack smiles and adjusts his arm where Alicia is now swaying along to the music but still staying attached to him. “Papa’s on a conference call. He’s going to come by later.”

“That’s nice. Your parents as enthusiastic about Disney Christmas as you are?”

Jack shrugs and his eyes crinkle in a way that reminds Bitty of Chris Pine. Shockingly, that does not help his situation. “Not really, but maman is amused by it, and papa says it’s an ‘anthropological study.’ Either way, they like that I always invite them down for the holiday.”

“You’re a good son.”

“Well, I try.”

Alicia smiles at the two of them and sighs happily before ruining it all by saying, “So, Eric, how’s your boyfriend?”

Eric freezes with his smile on his face and shrugs. “Well he’s not my boyfriend, but he’s moving back home soon, so that’s…over.”

“Bits, I’m sorry that’s-“

“Great!” Jack is cut off by Alicia’s exclamation. “Now you and Jackie can-“

“Can _what,_ mother?” 

Alicia stops and stares at Jack for a long moment that is nothing but pure torture to Bitty. There’s a conversation going on between the two of them that he fundamentally does not understand, but it’s making him uncomfortable and if he weren’t working right now, he’d probably scream. As it is, as soon as he puts on his nametag, he loses the ability to have any sort of reaction to anything. Eventually, he tires of it and decides to put them out of their misery. “Would you two like your wristbands?”

Jack has a look in his sad eyes that is somewhat pained and he opens his mouth to talk, but closes it again. “Thanks, Bittle. I’ll-uh-see you later.”

“You too. Merry Christmas!”

Now what in the sam hell was _that?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ruby and Kayla for bribing me into actually continuing this fic. Keep the pizzas coming...
> 
> Also, everyone please please please go give love to kayla (garlicbread-slut on tumblr) because she's had a ROUGH couple of days and she really needs it. She's a good nugget who's been dealt a rough hand lately.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are appreciated!  
> catch me on tumblr @fabbittle


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